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Grubball Betting Weekly Volume 3, Issue 2 April 2, 472 NEWS: KOTA THE WOLF SETS HIS SIGHTS ON "THE UNBEATABLE" There are some players who never see 94 kils in a season, and even more who never see 94 kills through their whole careers. But Drache's forschbowler Kota the Wolf has 94 kills in three games. Count em, three. That puts him on pace for 940 kills on the season. Well, let's not be silly, but if he stays hot, the AGL record for kills could be within reach. That record of 651 was set by Fenduth the Unbeatable of Tagrana wa-ay back in 381, over 90 years ago. The only other players to top 600 kills were Harold the Short with 619 for Transdarania in 439 and Tavin Kellek with 601 kills in his sophmore year in 464. "It's quite an ordeal going up against Kota," remarked Mystonian hinterplodder Gorben the Smooth after MystHaven's 6-5 overtime loss to Drache on 3/27, "I'd sooner face a brick wall... At least a brick wall doesn't have eyes in the back of its head." Kota the Wolf's defensive skills are definately compairable to the all-time greats of the game, but some of the credit for the Wolf's bloated stats go to the Drachean hinterplodders, who have lost 63% of their tipoffs this year. Unproductive tipoffs means more defensive plays, more defensive plays means more kill opportunities, and generally means the kiss of death for most teams. However, players such as Kota the Wolf can sometimes step up and bail their teams out with noble feats of 40+ kills. It's early in the season yet, and "The Unbeatable" has yet to be beaten, but "The Wolf" has gotten himself to an outstanding start. NEWS: TROG THOGMORE, LEGEND OF THE VALE? Trog Thogmore, backfieldsman for Sresar Vale United, accumulated 43 kills in the Vale's game against Tagrana Memorial on March 27th, a feat which topped the previous single-game record for his position by 11 kills. Thogmore, a native of Sresar Vale, has been haled by the peasantry as a new hope for their beloved "Dire Sheep", who barely have made a showing for the cup race over the past decade. Thogmore also topped the team's single-quinting record for kills by any position with 20 in the fourth quinting. Sresar Vale won that game 6-1. While most grubball fans would agree that a single game's performance does not make or break a superstar, eyebrows have been raised. During Thogmore's rookie season last year, which was abbreviated by the untimely end of the 471 season, Thogmore averaged 9.5 kills a game, which was second among backfieldsmen only to Drachean Quarth's average of 10.7. During his last game of that season, Thogmore racked up 19 kills, which had been his career high for that point in his young career. "The question ain't how many kills I'm gonna get," insisted Thogmore after the game, "The question is how is [Sresar Vale United] gonna get us some wins. That's more important, whether I gets the kills or Lor gets the kills or what. My job is to help my teamates score and to help my team keep the other fella from scoring. I dunno if I'm even gonna get 43 more kills for the rest of the season, and you know what? I don't care as long as we keep winning." Most grubball experts would agree that the SVU backfield is critical to the team's success or failure in 472. While Sresar Vale has an above-average attack, it is usually said that defense wins a game. Blocking is absolutely essential for an AGL team to score points consistantly. "It's good to have backfieldsmen who can kill a play once in awhile," stated SVU's star hinterplodder Dalt the Common, "But Trog does the more important tasks, such as blocking and opening holes for us little guys to score. And Trog's pretty young, so we can expect to see more of that as time goes on." The nagging question remains: Is Sresar Vale Unted capable of beating teams such as Drache, Hornath-ul-Marfed, or Mhernettla? Only time will tell, but if it comes down to SVU's marvelous young backfield, they've got more than a fighting chance. ANALYSIS: THE YOUNG PROSPECTS OF 472 Hinterplodders Magni the Bull - Drache There's no doubt about it; Magni the Bull is the real deal, and will be akin to superstars such as Kylus of the North, Gorben the Smooth, and Valknandra the Fair. His straightforward approach is more likened to Gessihorna's star hinterplodder Dilminth's Son, and there is no reason to think that he won't be just as good, possibly as soon as this season. Huixon the Brave - Drache His finnesse compliments his teamates perfectly, and this young player is already a very smart and resourceful hinterplodder. It will be seen by the end of this season whether or not Huixon can fufill the expectations of Drachean fans. Yagel Irben - Galanor This 19-year-old youngster has played grubball in Aslar, Elluria, El-Ekki, and Secca before showing up at the Galanor training camp last year. He is often compared a young Dalt the Common, although his performance thusfar hasn't allowed him to fill those shoes. With a little confidence and anger management skills, he could develop into a very decent starting hinterplodder, possibly even a star. Midfield Jebai Bloodmoor - Mhernettla Bloodmoor portraits the classic Korthai grubball style. He's ferocious and aggressive, although reportedly he has had some problems with focus. Within a couple of years he should be consistantly scoring 20 points and 100 kills per season. Rue Denali - MystHaven Denali is an excellent athlete, without a doubt, although he does still have a bit to learn about grubball. Despite his raw form he is already a very capable starting midfieldsman, and with more practice and direction he could be star-quality. Look for a big jump in his numbers by the end of this year. Vale Dorius - Ruthmarna United Dorius is very reminiscent of the northern grubballers of old, with a very agile and precise style of play. He has had some problems with injury already in his young career, but if he overcomes that he should be a very good defensive midfieldsman. However, his height prevents him from being a very big offensive threat. Abraxas Caros - Drache Caros hasn't seen much play in this young season, but he is a very skilled and intense player for someone his age. He is very mature and should fit in very well with the Drachean midfield. Backfield Trog Thogmore - Sresar Vale United 43 kills in one game is a hard number to ignore, despite that it was against Tagrana Memorial's anemic offense. Don't expect him to be a kills machine, but Thogmore has already proven himself as a steady blocker and he has plenty of time to improve. Calvin Inexhaustable - Sresar Vale United Calvin has been identified as a "maybe" in the SVU roster for two years now, and he has just recently acquired a starting position in the SVU backfield. There isn't much pressure on him or any of his teamates so far this season, but he is just about due to blossom into a great backfieldsman. Tiburon Xativa-Lathvek - Drache This 7'0" 300lb Korthai has turned some heads already in his rookie season and good reports have been coming in from Drache. He's deceptively nimble for his size and is already been compared to his teammate Quarth. Aegus Durn - Sivriana Aegus Durn is fairly small for a backfieldsman but he seems to be sturdy, having not missed a single quinting in the five games he played last year. He is an above-average blocker with good potential as a defensive backfieldsman. There has been some speculation that he might make the switch to forschbowler if Tavin Kellek's woes continue. Forschbowler Tad Bringwine - Tagrana Memorial Tad is expected to rotate with Lon the Inferior at forschbowler this season. He saw only 7 quintings of play during his rookie year last season, but during that time he acquired 25 kills and scored 1 point. He has excellent potential but he is still a ways from being a complete forschbowler. Bench Io Balzek - MystHaven Balzek played on the El-Ekki national team in 470 at the ripe old age of 15, where he played forschbowler. Now, at 17, he is said to be a solid forschbowler but there is not much need for his skills at that postion in the MystHaven lineup this year. He should be playing a little bit of hinterplodder and midfield this year and his skills in those areas have yet to be determined, athough hopes are high. Jesiah Blanchard - MystHaven Jesiah Blanchard recieved high praise from scouts after his first two games of this young season, and he is expected to excel at midfield if he gets enough playing time. If veteran Gorben the Smooth becomes injured at hinterplodder, Mystonian experts claim that he might fill in at hinterplodder. Len the Grey - Sresar Vale United Len the Grey is haled as a top prospect by Sresar Vale fans, who hope that he will help to ease the burdens of fellow hinterplodder Dalt the Common. He has great speed and agility and should score at least 10 points this season. Kaneki from El-Ekki - Tralazir The flood of Ekkian and Ellurian grubball talent continues to invade Arangoth and the Isle of Mysts, and Kaneki is another prime talent from that region. He's a great backfieldmsan/midfieldsman with solid defensive and blocking skills. He should get lots of quintings in the relatively weak Tralazir lineup, with plenty of opportunity to sharpen his skills. ODDS: Next Week's Games 4-3-472 Arankeep @ Angelsin -- Angelsin favored 3:1 Mhernettla @ Bralk Lakrath -- Mhernettla favored 2:1 Drache @ Tralazir -- Drache favored 11:1 Galanor @ Sresar Vale United -- SVU favored 4:1 Gessihorna @ Hornath-ul-Marfed -- Hornath favored 3:1 Peraltok Valley @ Millabratel -- Millabratel favored 5:1 Ruthmarna United @ MystHaven -- MystHaven favored 3:1 Tagrana Memorial @ Sivriana -- Tagrana favored 2:1 4-7-472 Tagrana Memorial @ Angelsin -- Angelsin favored 3:1 Sresar Vale United @ Arankeep -- SVU favored 6:1 Tralazir @ Bralk Lakrath -- Bralk Lakrath favored 5:1 Drache @ Gessihorna -- Drache favored 3:1 Galanor @ Ruthmarna United -- Galanor favored 2:1 Hornath-ul-Marfed @ Peraltok Valley -- Hornath favored 7:1 MystHaven @ Mhernettla -- Mhernettla favored 3:1 Sivriana @ Millabratel -- Millabratel favored 5:1 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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